Success Through Infection
I hear you, I hear you, I hear you. I have read all of your comments and your emails. And one in particular really resonated with me. Patrick asked, “How do you motivate your employees?”

Every management book out there talks about the importance of inspiring people around you. I get it. But I call BS. I’d take an IGNITED person over an inspired person any day. Why? What exactly is the difference?

Jordanism: You cannot inspire people who are not already open to it.

I look for inspired people, not people looking to be inspired. I spend between two and three hours personally talking to our new hires every Monday morning. I talk to them about the good, the bad and the ugly of building Zimmerman. I tell them about the sleepless nights, the tears, and ultimately the success. I share the culture and vision of the agency with them.

Why do I take the time to do this every week? Because my job is to light up something within our associates…to help them find their genius, their rage, their full potential. We work hard to make sure every person we hire at Zimmerman fits a mold. We make sure each and every one of them is an inspired individual. Our associates aren’t the type of people that sit on their asses waiting for someone or something to come along and inspire them. They are the kind of people that are already so inspired, so IGNITED, that they can’t wait to go out and inspire others.

Saying this might make me unpopular. But guess what? I don’t care about popularity. I care about showing people how to accomplish more than they ever thought they could. People that are IGNITED cannot help but share that electricity. It isn’t a choice – IGNITED people are infectious. And so is the success they generate.